Aislinn McGonagalSnape and the Trials of Hogwarts
by Abenakiwerewolf
Summary: When an abused Boston girl supplicates to a goddess she doesn't know where she'll end up. But Aislinn certainly didn't expect to end up at the Order of the Phoenix. ABANDONED AND UP FOR ADOPTION!
1. Chapter 1

Aislinn's hand shook as she placed the last dove bone in the circle around her. Carefully she whispered the words that would take her away from her abusive father and hopefully to a better life.

"Brighid, Daughter of Dagda and Tuatha De Dannan, I call on thee, release me from this place. Grant me a safe me a safe haven, so that I might live again. Brighid, Goddess of the holy wells, minstrels and smiths, Patron of those who seek knowledge, I call thee. Release me from this place."

Near the end of the spell/supplication Aislinn was panting heavily as a power that was not her own swept through her. She was almost overwhelmed as she managed to choke out the last words, "Brighid, release me from this place and grant me a safe haven."

The bones and feathers that she had spent weeks collecting glowed with a burning white light. Aislinn's last sight was of her father breaking down the door. She gave him a triumphant smile as the Goddess swept her away.

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It was going to be a fairly routine meeting, Severus thought. Dumbledore would be handing out assignments, Black would be crowing about being able to leave the house, and he himself would be handing out information that might be of use to anyone while giving out snide remarks.

He glanced around the kitchen. It had improved dramatically since Miss Granger had taken Black into a separate room and yelled at him to be nice to Kreacher or else. The pans were now gleaming, the stonework had been cleaned of soot and grime and God knows what else. Severus shuddered delicately at what might have been in the dirt that coated the walls.

It was not commonly known, but Severus hated filth and dirt. He was a remarkably fastidious person; he liked everything in his surroundings clean and organized. It was one of the reasons that he had hated the Black House so vigorously. There were other reasons of course; one of the top ones was that it was a place where he was required to talk to people. He would have preferred to simply give Dumbledore the information rather than talk to a large group of people that hated him. Black and Lupin among them.

As Severus had suspected it was a fairly routine meeting. Dumbledore had made a big show of thanking him for the information [the old man was more than a little strange]. They were rising from the tables, everyone with a clear idea of what they were going to do next, when a white light started to shine from the corner of the kitchen.

Everyone whipped out their wands and pointed it toward the light as it slowly condensed into a teenage girl. Severus noticed several things about her very quickly. 1, she was wearing rather dirty clothes, 2, she had black hair, 3, her eyes were glowing with a green light, 4, and she seemed to have _bones_ and _feathers_ surrounding her.

Severus glanced toward Dumbledore to see what his reaction was. Seeing that the old man was just as shocked as the rest of them unnerved Severus even more. This girl was an anomaly and one of the many things that the Potions Master didn't like was anomalies.

Aislinn looked up as the light around her cleared. She was still panting, subconsciously attempting to cling to the power as it left her body. Slowly she became aware of people surrounding her. Their stances were defensive and they were pointing sticks, no, _wands_ at her.

Aislinn smiled wearily, "Okay, it worked," she said before keeling over in a dead faint.

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The Order members stared at each other in shock. This girl had somehow made it past the protection spells, the spells against apparition, and the Fiddilius charm.

Black and Lupin, of course, where one dog goes another will follow, inched their way toward the girl. Severus understood their caution, but for crying out loud, the girl was unconscious. What threat could she be? Oh yeah, a big one.

Black bent down and felt for her pulse, "She's alive." Okay that was unnecessary, the girl visibly _breathing_. Gently Black turned her over. Now that the blinding light was gone it was easy to see the bruises, old and fresh that covered the girl. She had long cuts on her arms, mostly healed that were clearly defensive wounds.

Severus was familiar with all the damage that a sadistic person could do to a human body, but something about seeing such wounds on someone so young made his stomach turn. The rush of protectiveness he felt toward her shocked him. He would take the feeling and examine it later, but right now he was going to do his best to protect her. Even from the other members of the Order.

Severus brushed aside Black and Lupin, conjuring a stretcher. Carefully he eased the girl onto it. "I trust you have a bed that is safe for human beings?" he asked Black in a sarcastic tone.

As planned Black bristled at the insult. He swept up past the rest of the Order and led the way to a spare bedroom. The Order followed, Moody was looking quite twitchy. Severus knew that the aurors paranoia was catching up with him.

The Order trouped up the stairs, going quietly past Mrs. Blacks portrait. Black led them to a room with four beds that were all made up. Severus sneered at the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. He eased the girl onto the nearest bed and looked her over more carefully.

Her hair was a deep dull black; he had a feeling that it would be shiny once clean. Her features were even and again, would be considered pretty if clean. Her clothes were in horrible condition, with tears and stains that he recognized as blood. Severus had a feeling that the blood was her own. She had multiple piercings in her ears and her mouth was slightly open, revealing a tongue piercing.

Severus moved to the head of the bed as Dumbledore pointed his wand at the girl and said "Enervate."

The girl's eyes flickered open.

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Aislinn had the feeling of swimming towards the surface of some body of water. This was absurd because she had never gone swimming in her entire life. Her eyes opened slowly. The first thing she saw was a kindly old face with half moon spectacles. Blue eyes looked at her warily. The second thing she saw was the old man's outfit. "Crap, its Gandalf," she muttered.

There was a chuckling sound from some of the people in the room. She glanced around taking in the faces around her. There was only one woman and she didn't look like the motherly type so there was no help there. She decided to focus on the old man in front of her.  
The old man raised an eyebrow. "What is your name?" he asked gently.

Aislinn gave him a half smile, "Aislinn Fantano. The prenatal units were an odd mix of Irish and Spanish. Who're you?"

"Albus Dumbledore. Where are you from?"

"Inner City of Boston," Aislinn replied. "I'm guessin' that I'm in England given' your accent."She tried to sit up and fell back with a gasp. "Jeeze I feel like a cooked noodle."

A man with longish black hair and a hooked nose helped her to lean against the pillows. Amazingly he didn't take the opportunity to feel her up. A glimmer of hope stirred in her that this might be the place where she was meant to be. She smiled shyly at the man, "Thanks," she said softly.

The man gave her a small nod. Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat and asked another question, "How did you come here?"

Aislinn hung her head, "A supplication of the Goddess Brighid. I asked her to find me a safe haven. Since she dumped me here I'm guessin' this is it."

Mr. Dumbledore raised a white bushy eyebrow. "You have no knowledge of who we are?"

Aislinn shook her head, beginning to get worried. She glanced around at the wary faces of the men and the woman. They were all dressed so strangely. Did she fall into some sort of weird gang or cult? It would be just her luck. "No, I don't. Should I?"

"Have you ever heard the name Voldemort?" Mr. Dumbledore said. The others shuddered as they heard the name.

Aislinn frowned at the Latin roots behind the name. "Green Death? No, that's not it, verde is green, not volde. But still it's similar," she finally noticed that Mr. Dumbledore was looking at her expectantly. "The Latin babble means no, I've never heard that name. Kind of an oxymoronic name though. Given that green implies plants which then implies life."

A few of the men snorted. A few looked even more worried. Aislinn got more nervous as the silence stretched. She wasn't going to say anything though.

"Are you a witch?" The question came from the black haired man who had stayed near her.

Aislinn shrunk in on herself, holding her knees to her chest. She looked at the man in fear. He had been nice! He wasn't supposed to be one of those sex offender religious freaks! She bit her lip, not noticing when it started to bleed. They were all staring at her, expecting an answer. "N-no!" she stammered. "I'm not! Please, I'm not! I just use more of my brain than most people, it's not magic! Please, don't, just don't!" Aislinn began to shake. This was fast becoming the worst day of her life on what was supposed to be the best. Damn it, she couldn't even do a simple supplication right!

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Severus stared at the girl in horror. She was obviously terrified that they were going to hurt her for doing magic. Whoever she was, she had been hurt before, but for doing magic! Why hadn't the American Ministry picked her up and sent her to a safe place?

Then was she said finally clicked in his brain. She wasn't a witch; she was an earth mage or a psychic. Maybe both, probably both. But she was terrified now.

Putting aside his dislike of dirt he sat down on the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her. Black and Lupin started forward along with Minerva, but Dumbledore waved them back. Even Moody looked sorry for the girl.

"Listen to me Aislinn. You are not in trouble. The reason I asked is that we are witches and wizards. You will never be in trouble for doing magic or whatever it is that you do. You will never be hurt here. I will not allow it." As he spoke he noticed that her shaking lessened. She gave a watery sniff and dug out a grubby handkerchief. She dabbed at her face, but only succeeded in moving the dirt around. Severus pulled out his and gently traded with her.

"Thanks," she muttered, tears still leaking from her eyes. She wiped her face and then noticed that the white linen was now filthy. "Sorry," she said, not looking at his face.

"It's quite alright," Severus replied, "that's what laundry is for."

Aislinn smiled slightly. She was worn out, both physically and mentally.

Severus looked up at Minerva, "Perhaps you could lend Aislinn a nightgown and help her into it?" Minerva nodded and conjured one of her tartan nightgowns. A sensible flannel, just like her. Dumbledore gestured everyone out of the room and Severus and Minerva helped Aislinn out of bed.

Severus left the two females to it, ignoring the sounds from behind the screen. When they were ready, he helped Aislinn to the bed. Minerva seemed quite shaken so Severus tucked the blankets around the young woman. Aislinn's eyes were already drifting closed.

Severus turned to leave but a fine boned hand stopped him. He looked down at the young woman. "What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Severus Snape," he replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Snape," Aislinn whispered as she closed her eyes.

"Call me Severus," was the last thing she heard before she drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Dumbledore looked grave as he surveyed Minerva and Severus. "Well?"

Minerva began, "Albus, we can't let anything happen to her. I saw her body; it was covered in bruises and scars. I'm willing to adopt her if no one else is."

Severus cleared his throat; the other two looked at him. "I believe that I would be better equipped to take care of the child. I know that I am not the best parental figure, but I believe that she needs a protective friend more than a parent right now. And I promised her."  
Minerva looked at Severus and said seriously, "I'll support this. But I want to be a part of her life as well."

Severus nodded his agreement. Dumbledore smiled and said, "Its official. We'll get her adopted by Severus, with shared custody with Minerva. I do not believe that she is any danger to the Order, but that she may in fact be a help."

Severus and Minerva nodded and the three went their separate ways.

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Aislinn opened her eyes. The previous day came whirling back to her as she observed the strange ceiling above her. She thought she recognized the gothic style of the architecture, but wasn't quite sure what it was called. Carefully she glanced around and not seeing anyone eased out of the bed. Her bruises yelled at her when she stretched at them, but she ignored them with the ease of long practice.

Aislinn smoothed down the nightgown she was in, savoring the feel of the flannel. It was so soft! The floor was cold, so she hurried to the door. Carefully she opened it, and stuck her head out. She could hear voices coming from down the stairs so she tiptoed down them, thankful for the soft carpeting.

The walls were lined with gas lanterns and heads that looked like they came from some sort of elf. They looked remarkably like the imps that Aislinn had seen rooting around in dumpsters, but the ears were slightly bigger. She continued to move toward the voices, her shoulder's hitched around her neck in a defensive posture.

Words began to come clearer. "Molly Weasley and her brood will be coming later in the week," a man's voice said.

"Marvelous," the second man said. "I can't wait to get back at Fred and George for that prank they pulled last time."

"Padfoot, are you ever going to grow up?" Man number one asked. Aislinn cocked her head to one side. Padfoot was an odd nickname.

"Not at all Moony! The kids love me just the way I am-What?"

Footsteps walked to the door in front of Aislinn. She cringed, hoping that they wouldn't be mad at her for eavesdropping. An older looking man opened the door. He had hazel eyes and a kindly looking face. The scars seemed to add to a worn and weary persona. He gestured her into a well lit kitchen. Aislinn's toes curled away from the cold flagstones.

Remus put a hand on the girl's shoulder, but quickly removed it when she visibly panicked. "We were just about to have tea, would you like to join us?" he asked, trying to make her feel more comfortable.

He noticed how she glanced around the kitchen, taking in everything before giving him a guarded nod. Remus motioned for Sirius to pour, summoning a nice teacup for the teen. "How do you take your tea?"Sirius asked the girl, not unkindly. He was ill-prepared for her flinch at his words, as if she were bracing to be hit. Sirius looked at Remus, at a loss with how to deal with the situation.

Aislinn saw the look and misinterpreted it. "I've never had tea before. Old Annie used to make an Herbal tea, but I don't think that's what you're havin'," she said quickly, not wanting a scolding. "She used to put honey and cream in it, when she had tha' stuff."

Remus nodded, business like. "Cream and honey it is," he said, spooning plenty of it into her tea. He watched as she took a careful sip.

"It's good!" she said surprised. She noticed the men's smiles. "I'm sorry; I don't know your names?"She said hesitantly.

"I'm Remus Lupin and that scoundrel over there is Sirius Black," Remus said with a half bow, hiding his smile behind his tea.

Aislinn nodded, sipping the tea. "What is this place?" she asked even more tentatively. "Mr- I mean Severus never really said."

She didn't get the reaction that she expected. Sirius's face darkened and he leaned forward to catch her eyes. She leaned back, frightened. "If Snape is ever mean to you in any way I want you to tell me. He can be vicious sometimes and you need to watch out for him."

Aislinn's eyes widened, "But he was nice! He-"she broke off and then said quietly, "He said he'd take care of me. Him and dragon lady."

Remus shot Sirius a glare that clearly stated, "Now is not the time," and asked Aislinn, "Dragon lady?"

Aislinn blushed. "She lent me the nightgown," she said, gesturing to it. "And she looked real angry when she saw the bruises, an' she reminded me of a protective Mama Dragon."

Sirius laughed. "That's Minerva McGonagall. So she's going to take you in? Not a surprise there. And she can be quite the dragon lady. I like the new nickname."

Remus smiled at his friend's selective hearing. Sirius had ignored that it was to be a joint custody. Remus wasn't surprised. Snape had been very protective of Aislinn the night before. "Have a biscuit," Remus encouraged. "As to your original question, this is the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. We work to prevent Voldemort from gaining too much power."

Aislinn nodded. "Is he the local Tough?"

Remus glanced at Sirius in confusion, but Padfoot had clearly never heard the term before either. "Tough?" he asked.

Aislinn ducked her head. "That's what I call 'em. People, usually guys, who think that rules don't apply to them and that they can do anythin' they want. Usually with a gang or a bunch o' enforcers."

"Did you have one back where you lived?" Sirius asked, not seeing Remus's warning look.

Aislinn nodded. "Fat Teddy. He was the head pimp on the block. Had a bunch o' guys whose job it was to get new girls to work for him. He di'n't treat 'em too good, beat on 'em a lot. But he paid good so a lot of girls worked for 'im. He didn't send more than two guys after me a'cause I sent them back with crushed nuts." Sirius and Remus snorted into their tea. Aislinn grinned. "Old Annie was his main girl. She were'nt so bad, took after the others, got protection for 'em and all that. She had some nice teas too. I'd visit her when Da' wuz in a bad spot."

Sirius nodded. "Voldemort is much worse. He believes that all those with muggle, people who aren't witches and wizards, blood is dirty, and he kills them. He kills a lot of people. He's got followers too, the Deatheaters."

Aislinn listened to them explain Voldemort with wide eyes. It was like Hitler Germany, only maybe even worse! She thought of all the people back home that had helped her. Old Annie, Fergus, Sveck, Tin Tommy. She thought of how it would be if they were killed a'cause they didn't follow Fat Teddy.

"Can," she interrupted, and then stopped. At the men's encouraging looks she continued, "Can I help at all? This jerk don't sound like he's gonna stop and, well, I could be useful right?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged joyful looks. But as usual Remus was the voice of caution. "It might be best if we waited for Dumbledore. Raise this interest to him. If you're old enough and your guardians let you, I see no reason why you shouldn't fight. How old are you, now that I think of it?"

"Sixteen, Remus," Aislinn replied. Remus nodded. Dumbledore probably wouldn't let her fight, but he wouldn't be the one to break that news.

Voices came from the hall. Aislinn almost immediately shrunk in on herself, her arms going around her body in a protective shift. Remus and Sirius frowned at her sudden change in body language. Gone was the girl that had just been conversing freely with them. In her place was a worn jaded teen, who knew that she couldn't trust the world to be on her side.

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Severus sighed as he apparated with Minerva. He had spent much of the night signing the necessary paperwork to formally adopt Aislinn. He had Minerva had decided to share custody of the child. Dumbledore had asked the castle to make rooms adjoining Severus's with a built in magical passage to Minerva's rooms. The Headmaster and his Deputy had deferred to Severus when he stated that Aislinn would likely be more comfortable in an enclosed, cozy environment with access to higher levels.

Minerva had chosen the furniture, choosing a warm mahogany with red cedar finish. They would let her choose her own bedding when they went shopping with her later. Dumbledore was allowing them to use the Special Cases account with the knowledge "That we aren't likely to come across anyone more special than our Miss Aislinn."

Severus graciously allowed Minerva to go first into the kitchen. He saw her back stiffen and then relax. Severus followed quickly, wanting to see what had upset her. He felt his own back stiffen as he saw Aislinn sitting with Black and Lupin. She had been curled in on herself and Severus could feel the venom towards Black and Lupin begin to rise.

But when Aislinn realized that it was Severus and Minerva she shot them a big delighted smile and uncurled from her previous position. Sirius seemed a bit surprised at her sudden change of heart.

"Hello, Aislinn." Minerva greeted.

"Hello, Ms. McGonagall, hello Severus," Aislinn said, suddenly shy around these people.

Minerva would have none of it. "Please, call me Minerva, my dear." At Aislinn's nod the Scot continued. "If it's alright with you I would like to adopt you along with Severus. We have the paper's right here."She held up the pieces of parchment. Under her commanding gaze, Sirius and Remus moved over so the matron could sit next to Aislinn.

"You want to adopt me?" Aislinn asked, shocked. When she had performed the plea for haven she hadn't actually expected people to take an active interest in her. But now she had two people wanting to adopt her. She glanced up, way up, at Severus. He was smiling at her and she got the sense that he didn't smile often.

"Of course we do," Severus said.

Aislinn smiled at Minerva, "Where do I sign?" she asked excitedly. Minerva chuckled and pointed out where the girl should sign and where she should initial. Both Minerva and Severus were surprised at the girl's elegant handwriting. Aislinn hesitated half way through, causing Severus to ask what was wrong.

"It's just, should my name change?" Aislinn asked.

Severus gave her a gentle smile. "If you wish it to change it can. I like Aislinn myself."

Minerva handed Aislinn the name change paper. "Whatever you like," she told the teen. Aislinn carefully penned in 'Aislinn Cassandra McGonagall-Snape'. Minerva felt tears come to her eyes.

"Thank you," she said with a sniffle. Sirius and Remus grinned at each other at seeing the woman so emotional. They stopped at her glare. "Though I must ask, Cassandra?"

"My mother's name," Aislinn said softly. "This way she's a part of me." She looked up at the two adults, "Just like you are."

Now tears openly formed in Minerva's eyes. "Again, thank you," the witch said. She then folded up all the parchment and with a wave of her wand, sent it to Dumbledore. It didn't escape her how Aislinn's eyes widened with wonder at the magic.

"Now," the woman said, "Now we go shopping."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Aislinn giggled at Minerva's strict dress. Severus, she had to admit to herself, looked good in slacks and a sports coat. They had gotten her a Hogwarts school uniform in her size, the only thing they could find on short notice. Aislinn ran her hand along the pleated gray skirt, marveling once more that people were about to spend money on her.

Severus smiled down at the girl clutching at his hand like a lifeline. If her eyes got any wider they would fall out of her head, he thought. Severus had been surprised at the fatherly emotions he felt towards the girl. He had been inordinately pleased when it became clear that _he_ was her preferred guardian. She obviously liked Minerva, but Severus was the person Aislinn asked when she encountered things she didn't understand.

"Where are we going?" Aislinn questioned.

"To a few department stores," Minerva replied. "We need to get you some decent clothes, along with bedding and toiletries. After that we'll go shopping for your school supplies."

"I'm going to school?"Aislinn asked, almost out of her mind with joy.

"Of course," Minerva said, looking down her nose at passing young men who stared at Aislinn. Aislinn, to guardian's joy, remained completely oblivious to their stares. "We've already enrolled you at Hogwarts. One of the finest, if not _the_ finest, schools in the world."

Severus noticed Aislinn looking worried. He brought his hand to her shoulder and guessed at her thoughts, "You're worried about magic aren't you?"

Aislinn nodded, not looking at them. "What if I can't do it?"

Minerva clucked as they entered the first store. "Nonsense my dear. Even if you can't do traditional wizarding magic, it's highly likely that you are an earth mage or a psychic. You don't need magic to learn things at Hogwarts, though it does help for some things. If a wand won't respond to you then there's still Herbology, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Arithmetic, Ancient Runes, History, Quidditch, and I suppose if you're desperate, Divination."

"What do you teach?" Aislinn asked her guardians.

"Minerva teaches Transfiguration, which is the art of changing one object into another, and I teach Potions," Severus replied. "Are you a good cook? Can you follow directions?"

Aislinn considered this. "Ain't ever had the chance to really cook. But I can follow directions to a't'."

"You'll do fine then."

The question of magic was forgotten in a flurry of shopping. Minerva insisted on several 'decent' length dresses when it became apparent that Aislinn would gladly just have trousers. Severus stopped her from entering the men's section, stating that she would have pretty things in bright colors.

The womenfolk abandoned Severus when it became clear that he would not set foot in the lingerie section. Minerva picked out some sensible bras and the young sales clerk picked out some pretty lacy ones that Minerva clucked her tongue at. Minerva introduced Aislinn to her favorite fragrance, Highland Rose, which Aislinn adored. They ended their shopping in that section with hair products. Minerva finally understood that while Aislinn loved Minerva's hairstyle, it wasn't something she wanted to copy.

The women and Severus left their bags with the cashier and went to the home furnishing section. Aislinn began to worry about the amount of money being spent on her but both Minerva and Severus refused to hear it. Aislinn finally accepted that they were having as much fun as she was.

In the home furnishing section Aislinn picked out a warm quilted flannel bedding set with a pattern of black roses. Both Minerva and Severus gave their approval for different reasons. Severus because they were black, Minerva because they were roses. It turned out that there was a bedroom set that went along with the bedding that included a lamp, several small tablecloths and curtains. There was also a rug that had the same pattern, but Aislinn decided to go with the red rose pattern instead of the black. As with the clothing the group left the purchases with the cashier and continued on to the muggle books and school supplies.

Both Minerva and Severus were avid readers and enjoyed both muggle and wizarding literature. They were smiling at Aislinn's obvious excitement at the prospect of getting her own books. Again they left with laden down arms, both books and drawing supplies, not to mention a nice journal, with Aislinn practically bouncing with joy.

A trip to the toiletry section, Severus refused to join once more, to get necessary items for Aislinn. Finally they went to the cashier who beamed at them and rang up the cost. Aislinn was happy she didn't completely understand British money so she didn't have to realize just how much they had spent on her. Minerva arranged for the purchases to be sent to an address that Aislinn didn't recognize. As they exited that store Minerva explained that the items would be shipped from that address to Hogwarts. "They should be all set up for you once we get to Hogwarts this evening."

When both Aislinn and Severus's stomachs growled at the same time, the trio agreed to stop for lunch. After fortifying themselves they continued on to the Leaky Cauldron.

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Aislinn was struck dumb at the sight of Diagon Alley. Minerva and Severus chuckled at her expression. Aislinn followed along, her head swiveling, trying to see everything at once. She was shocked when she saw the owls overhead and wondered how she had never known about this secret world.

Under a silent agreement her guardians seemed to steer toward one shop. Aislinn read the sign with trepidation as they entered the dusty shop. In the window a single wand lay on a dusty velvet pillow.

Inside it was even dustier, with an air of mystery that Aislinn couldn't decide whether she liked or not. Her eyes found a strange looking old man in the shadows. His silver eyes seemed to stare into her soul in an unpleasant way. She didn't want this man seeing her secrets.

"Welcome, earth mage," the man said. Minerva and Severus seemed to snap to attention even more.

"She is an earth mage then," confirmed Minerva. She gazed down at her charge with obvious pride. Earth mages were rare and extremely powerful. They tended to live long productive lives.

"A very powerful one," Ollivander said in his whispery voice. "Too powerful for one of my wands. I have some amulets and crystals that she may focus her power through until she is trained, however."

Aislinn's grip tightened on Severus's hand. He hid his flinch fairly successfully, although Minerva caught it and smirked at him.

Aislinn watched as the old man got out several boxes of various sizes. He opened one of them and held it out to her. Inside was a crystal orb shot through with gold veins. Aislinn reached for it and when it was in her hand the lights went out.

"No," said Ollivander, waving his hand to bring back the lights. He snatched the orb out of her hands and gave her another.

It also failed as did the next and the next twenty after that. Aislinn was beginning to get discouraged but when the stones failed Ollivander got more and more excited.

"A tricky customer!" he said to himself with glee. He stopped at a shelf and said, "I wonder," looking at her with a curious expression. Carefully he drew down a wide rectangular box and reverently placed it before the American teen. Ollivander withdrew the cover with a flourish and Aislinn gasped.

Gently she picked up the gem studded square. The base was made of Bloodstone with garnets on each side surrounded by opals. It was flashy and she loved it. Her face showed her awe as she held the amulet in the palm of her hand where it fit perfectly.

Green, blue and red light began to shine from the amulet, lighting the entire shop with shifting colors. Severus and Minerva gasped as Aislinn's hair began to change colors to match the stone. Ollivander clapped his hands together like a delighted child. "Perfect, just perfect," he exclaimed.

Aislinn smiled softly as she placed the stone back into its box. "It felt like coming home," she said softly. Tears shone in her eyes as she looked up at her guardians. "I'm home, aren't I?"

Minerva and Severus hugged their daughter gently. "Yes, my dear," Minerva told her, kissing her forehead. "You're home."


End file.
